Photo: QueensPost
March 27, 2011 Staff Report
Rite Aid, which has failed to clean its graffiti-ridden wall for months, has assured Sunnyside residents that it will clean it up today.
Many residents have complained about the national chain store’s reticence to get rid of the graffiti. Two weeks ago the store manager assured this reporter that the exterior wall would be cleaned up that week. That did not happen.
Upon a follow up interview, the manager said that it would be taken care of today.
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I made a reference to quality of life. When you do not maintain your property you do affect other people. When you fail to shovel snow, you put your neighbors and/or customers at risk of injury. When you let tagged-up walls remain for weeks on end, not only have you allowed an eyesore to remain, but neglected properties attract criminals and THAT affects all of us. In addition, try selling a house when it’s next to such a property. Try attracting customers to your store (for which the rent is too damn high) when it’s next to such a property. This isn’t only about Rite-Aid.
I don’t even want to know why the discussion concerns or bothers you to the point of having to make snotty comments. I guess you have some free time too!
youre talking about respect…
someone suggest flogging as a punishment? what respect do you deserve? and another thing… if you let graffiti affect the “quality of the life you lead”, then what kind of sad pathetic life are you leading?
yeah, it’s true the graffiti on that wall is hideous and i wont sit here and type that i think its okay, because its not. paint on wall that looks like that *BLECH* i can understand why you dont want to look at it, but if you have a problem with the way it looks to the point where it has become an eye sore and to the point where you feel like you have to complain about it…
sounds like too much time on your hands to me.
now excuse me while i attend my community service given to me for the graffiti i was arrested for… a normal effing punishment for it!
@Susan: I’ve found that ccing the entire C-suite, and possibly the board of directors if you can find their address on a company’s website really does the trick. I use that tactic sparingly, and only after giving a local and regional manager an opportunity to correct a situation, but when it becomes obvious they don’t care or are incompetent, I’m more than happy to let senior management know.
The Rite Aids in the area really seem to not make much of an effort to maintain the entirety of their property. It’s why I don’t shop there if I can help it.
@Long Time Resident: Thanks for the info. Last time I noted it with the 51st Street store I followed them on Twitter and sent an email to corporate. Never received a reply. But I can do that again and more next time.
Pretty sad that they do have the services but don’t expect them to work properly.
I agree businesses should be responsible for maintaining their properties, just like a residential landlord is responsible for same. Unless you live in a totally secluded area, if you let your property slide, you’re affecting the quality of life for other as well as their property values.
@Susan: I have spoken to the manager about snow and garbage removal repeatedly over the years. I have sent photos to the regional manager and every C-level executive at Rite Aid. This is the only way to get them to pay attention. <strong.When customers are involving senior level management, middle management starts to pay attention because it makes them look very bad that they can't handle this problem on their own.
What I’ve learned is that they do have snow and trash removal services. Apparently they just don’t expect them to actually take care of their entire property.
@Steven: It doesn’t strike me as at all odd that we expect businesses to maintain their properties. We would expect a home owner or coop to remove graffiti, so why should we expect less from a company doing business in the community? It’s community relations 101: show respect for the community you do business in. And honestly, how hard is it to have a bucket of beige paint on hand and a paintbrush?
I agree with the assessments of Rite-Aid. Regarding snow: The store on 51st and Roosevelt to 43rd Avenue is also not very nice. Whenever it snows, the 43rd Avenue side of the store goes without being shoveled for days. It’s even difficult to cross the parking lot–they incorrectly assume people are driving there. I could go on about that store but let’s just say I try to shop in Duane Reade instead which is at least clean and well organized. The same issue with snow removal has been a problem at Sleepy’s on 49th Street. The front of the store is fine but the side is not.
There is a business opportunity for an ambitious person who doesn’t mind working outdoors in all seasons–offer snow removal services for retailers who don’t have a capable employee or even for residential building owners who need help. (Why don’t I do it? I have a full time job and I dislike winter).
@sunnysider The sad truth is that Rite Aid is not a town merchant they are a big national chain store (with big financial problems) and doesn’t care about the neighborhood. This is one of the worst managed chains I have ever experienced. All the stores are a mess and run so poorly.
“How good does it look to our town when the merchant does not care aboiut his business.”
Steven i agree with you. I guess the city leaves a very bad taste in our mouth for the way they do things. Plus when someone makes a mess and we have to stare at it untill the store cleans it up. What has happened to make us such horrible people to live with. What happened to respect and dignity where has it all gone. Are these people just sick or just have no respect and feel that no one cares anymore. We really need to lft up our town and get some selfrespect back like now
Doesn’t it strke anyone else as odd that the complaints are against the victim? I would imagine I would get pretty disgusted if I had to pay out of pocket for materials and use my own employee year after year to clean up vandalism. What about the constantly sinking manhole on the corner sidewalk in front of this storre that the city has “repaired” in a slip shod manner for over 2 years, is that the stores problem to fix as well? If it’s true, it’s no wonder they will leave when the lease is up.
Hey, they did painted over the graffiti. I watched as the employee doing the paint job used a sponge mop, not a paint roller, and dripped large amounts of beige paint all over the sidewalk.
Quality of life crime – again.
When the store was diligent about painting over the tags there was much less of a problem. If the taggers know it’s going to be painted within days, they don’t bother.
That particular Rite Aid is a mess, inside and out.
i’ll continue to do my part by shopping at cvs.
Catch the vandals and flog them in public.
Why not put a security camers and lets catch the people that are paninting the side of the buiding and solve this problem. How good does it look to our town when the merchant does not care aboiut his business. We need laws in fact does not our council man has a grafetti clean up for our town. why cannot he be called in to help instead of waiting for rite aid to do the right thing
The Rite Aid over on Greenpoint routinely ignores taking care of the sidewalk on 47th St., the street its loading/delivery entrance is on. While you can be sure they make sure garbage and snow are removed from the street bearing the Rite Aid sign, don’t be so sure about the other piece of the property. It’s only a problem if someone falls and hurts themselves in front of the customer entrance to the store.
At least I have some sympathy for the graffiti, since chances are good painting over it will only result in more graffiti down the line.
It has been rumored that Rite-Aid will vacate this location when its lease expires. Rite-Aid has two larger stores in the area, one on Greenpoint Avenue that was recently renovated, and the other on Roosevelt Avenue on what was once the ground site of the Sunnyside Theatre.
The store can clean up the graffiti and it will be back within a few days.